Hair brush cleaner

ABSTRACT

A hair brush cleaner device having an irregular rectangular mounting block detachably affixed to a rotary shaft with rows of embedded bristles of such length and stiffness to break and remove hair from a hair entangled brush without entangling the embedded bristles and wherein the embedded bristles deteriorate before those of the hair entangled brush.

United States Patent lnventor Joseph P. Couhon, Jr.

18233 Sherman Way. Reseda, Calif. 91335 Appl. No. 794,080 Filed Jan. 27, 1969 Patented July 6, 1971 HAIR BRUSH CLEANER 2 Claims, 4 Drawing N35.

US. Cl 15/38, 15/179 int. Cl ..A46b 17/06, A461) 1/00, A46b 13/02 FieldoiSearch ..15/38,21.3,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,542,025 6/1925 Ballman 15/38 2,753,583 7/1956 Jepson 15/4 X 3,470,575 10/1969 Larson et al 15/38 Primary Examiner-R0bert L. Bleutge Assistant Examiner- Leon G. Machlin Attorney-Robert 0. Richardson ABSTRACT: A hair brush cleaner device having an irregular rectangular mounting block detachably afiixed to a rotary shaft with rows of embedded bristles of such length and stitfmess to break and remove hair from a hair entangled brush without entangling the embedded bristles and wherein the embedded bristles deteriorate before those of the hair entangled brush.

HAIR BRUSH CLEANER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 7 Sanitary codes in most cities require that hair brushes used in commercial beauty and barber shops be cleaned and sanitized after each use. Strands of hair accumulate throughout the bristles of the brush and must be removed.

This can be a time consuming, tedious and unpleasant task.

To assist in this task, mechanical brush cleaners have been used. In one cleaner a'motor driven shaft revolved with fingers raking through the brush bristles. A cleaner for the rotor fingers was provided since the fingers received the hair from the brush bristles and" became entangled in the fingers. This cleaner was in the form of a stationary mount having a series of depending prongs between which the fingers would pass, leavingth elhairlon the prongs. Periodically the mount with hair entangled prongs wriuld be removed to permit removal of the hair Ihfbperation, because of the shape of the fingers to effectuate transfer of hair to jthe prongs, it is necessary to insert the brush fully'into the cleaning box and then slowly withdraw it as the fingers revolve.

l The' cleanerju'st described is objectionable in that the fingers contacting the'brush are metal, are stiff and thus. cause wear onthe brush bristles. The fingers are not easily removed and are'notsanitiaedflhus creating an unsanitary condition for cleaning of subsequent brushes. The finger cleaner itself, when removed, requires cleaning such as with a tissue, for example.

In another mechanical brush cleaner, power-driven combs revolve at high speed to remove the hair collected in the bris ties of the brush and at the same time extract the hair removed by the combs. A plurality of comb segments are angularly spaced and relatively inclined to provide maximum brush cleaning efficiency. The comb fingers are springlike metal or suitably strong plastic material with angular tips to effectively remove any hair entangled in the bristles. The motor which rotates the combs also operates a fan and as the ends of the comb elements leave the bristles, hair is continuously pulled or blown off the combs by the flow of air caused by the fan. The hair is deposited against an inner screen which may be cleaned by the operator.

In this cleaner the combs also have fingers more stiff than the brush bristles, causing the bristles to wear. The fingers also are not removable or easily cleaned, again creating an unsanitary condition for the cleaning of subsequent brushes.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION A power driven rotary shaft within a suitable housing has a detachable and disposable mounting block nonrotatably affixed thereto. This mounting block is ofan irregular rectangular configuration and has a plurality of rows of bristles on opposite sides of the block. These bristles have a desired stiffness created by the relationship of their density, length and size of the bristles. This degree of bristle stiffness is important since if it was too limp it would not be effective as a cleaner and if it was too stiff it would cause the brush being cleaned to wear. The rectangular configuration of the block, as opposed to a square or circular one, causes an intermittent sweep of the brush which, when coupled with the correct stiffness of the bristles, causes a breakage of the hair, throwing extracted hair segments into the housing instead of matting on the cleaning brush. The cleaning brush is thus self cleaning, and the extracted hair segments are readily and easily removed the housing. The bristles of the cleaning brush wear instead of the bristies of the brush being cleaned. The cleaning brush, comprising the mounting block with. embedded bristles, is easily removed and can be sentizied along with the brushes after they have been cleaned.

In addition to the sanitary features of the cleaning brush of the present invention, it is rugged, reliable, inexpensive and efficient in use, and easily replaceable when worn.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a perspective view of the brush cleaner apparatus with a portion of the housing broken away' to more clearly show its operation;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of one form of brush cleaner; 7

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the brush cleaner;

and

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the brush cleaner.

DESCRIPTION OF lIsLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT Reference is now made to FIG. 1 wherein there is shown a housing 10 consisting of a base 12 upon which is hingedly mounted a cover 14 having a closed rear end 16 and an open front end 18. Preferably this cover is of a clear plastic material having a height of about 8 inches and .a width of about 6 inches. Mounted on base 12 adjacent one side of cover 14 is an electric motor 20 typically rated at one-fifteenth h.p. at 1,550 rpm. This motor has a revolving shaft that protrudes into cover 14. A suitable cut in the cover 14 permits the cover 14 to be tilted rearwardly along its hinge line between rear end 16 and base 12, when access is desired, such as for changing brushes or cleaning out the cover and base.

Detachably affixed to the shaft of motor 20, such as by a chuck or connecting sleeve 22, is the brush cleaner 24 consisting of a mounting block 26, opposed rows of bristles 28, and a shaft 30 upon which it revolves. A switch 32 is positioned on the base 12 for easy access.

In operation the motor 24 starts the brush cleaner 24 revolving and hair brush 34 is hand fed into opening 18 so that its bristles 36 are engaged by the bristles 28 of the brush cleaner 24. A slight downward tilt of brush 34 seems preferable although with a minimum of practice the operator will establish the best cleaning procedure. As will be explained more fully hereinafter the bristles 28 of cleaner 24 will penetrate the bristles 36 of brush 34 and remove the accumulation of entangled hair. This is done without entangling the bristles 28 of brush cleaner 24.

Reference is now made to the specific embodiment of brush cleaner shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. Here there is shown a shaft 30 having one end adapted for attachment to a motor. A pair of blocks 26, 26A have cooperative grooves 38, 3 8A extending longitudinaliy to receive the shaft 30 and to permit the two blocks to abut to form a single block. A pair of U-shaped clamps 40, 4 9A have inturned edges adapted to fit over the ends of the blocks to retain them and restrain them against centrifugal force as shaft 30 revolves. Suitable fasteners 42 such as pins, nails or screws pass through the clamps and into the blocks. End 44 of shaft 30 is threaded to a receive a lock washer 4.6 and nut. 48. Washer 50 is permanently affixed to shaft 30. When out 42% is tightened, blocks 26 and 26A are: secured on shaft 3% between washers 45 and 5t? and upon loosening ofnnt the blocks are readily removed.

In another form blocks 2.6 and 26A may be integral or be. fastened or bonded together to obviate the necessity of clamps 40 and 40A. Instead of removing the block from s. it 30 by loosening bolt 48, it may be preferable to remove shaft 30 from its connection with the motor shaft.

On opposite sides of blocks 26, 26A and embedded therein are rows of bristles 52, 54. While a four headed brush cleaner is also satisfactory, a two headed brush cleaner is almost as efficient and costs about half as much. Hence the two headed brush is preferred. The most efficient length of bristle to penetrate the depth of bristle of any hair brush to be cleaned is 1% inches. A direct relationship exists between e length of the bristle and its diameter to give the desired stiffness. If the bristle is the recommended length, its diameter may be within the range of from 0.018 inch to 0.022inch, in the case of Nylon bristles. If the length is increased, the bristle diameter must be increased to provide for the same stiffness. If the length is decreased, the diameter may be lessened. As previously mentioned, the degree of stiffness is important,-lf the bristles are too limp they are ineffective in cleaning and if they are too stiff they will cause the bristles on 'the brush to be cleaned to deteriorate. Nylon bristles are preferred to those made of metal since they do not damage or cause the bristles of the brush to be cleaned to wear. In fact, the bristles of the brush cleaning block show signs of wear first, which is desirable since the brush cleaner 24 is readily detachable for sanitizing purposes and easily replaceable when worn.

One very important advantage of the brush cleaner comprising the present invention is that when the hair is removed from the brush to be cleaned it does not mat or entangle in the bristles of the brush cleaner Instead it breaks off and collects in the housing where it is easily removed. This result does not occur if the block in which the bristles are embedded is round or square in cross section It must be rectangular and preferably an irregular rectangle in which the longer edge is not a whole number; multiple of the shorter edge. Blocks with dimensions of inch X 1 1/16 inches and inch X 1 3/16 inches are very effective. This causes an intermittent sweep of the hair brush and no even winding of the hair onto the brush cleaner can occur. Instead the hair breaks under the uneven pull as it is extracted from the brush to be cleaned.

While an illustrative embodiment has been shown and described it is to be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to this version, Instead, the improvements and modifications that will occur to those skilled in the art in view of these teachings are also to be construed as part of this invention.

lclaim:

l. A brush cleaning device for removing entangled hair from a hair brush comprising:

a rotary shaft,

means for rotating said shaft,

a mounting block detachably affixed to said shaft,

a plurality of rows of bristles embedded in said block and extending outwardly in opposed directions, said bristles having a length and stiffness to penetrate and rake hair embedded bristles of hair brushes held there against during rotation of said block, said bristles being less durable than bristles on said hair brushes, said block being of irregular rectangular configuration in cross section wherein the longest edge in cross section is not a whole number multiple of the shortest edge, causing an intermittent sweep of said hair brush and to prevent even winding of hair onto said block and to break said hair into lengths that may be thrown therefrom by centrifugal force,

said rotating means rotating said shaft at sufficient speed that hair embedded in said hair brushes engaging said bristles on said block is broken and thrown away from said block by centrifugal force.

2. A brush cleaning device as in claim 1,

said bristles being approximately V4 inches in length and having a diameter within the range of 0.0 l 8 inch to 0.022 inch. 

1. A brush cleaning device for removing entangled hair from a hair brush comprising: a rotary shaft, means for rotating said shaft, a mounting block detachably affixed to said shaft, a plurality of rows of bristles embedded in said block and extending outwardly in opposed directions, said bristles having a length and stiffness to penetrate and rake hair embedded bristles of hair brushes held there against during rotation of said block, said bristles being less durable than bristles on said hair brushes, said block being of irregular rectangular configuration in cross section wherein the longest edge in cross section is not a whole number multiple of the shortest edge, causing an intermittent sweep of said hair brush and to prevent even winding of hair onto said block and to break said hair into lengths that may be thrown therefrom by centrifugal force, said rotating means rotating said shaft at sufficient speed that hair embedded in said hair brushes engaging said bristles on said block is broken and thrown away from said block by centrifugal force.
 2. A brush cleaning device as in claim 1, said bristles being approximately 1/4 inches in length and having a diameter within the range of 0.018 inch to 0.022 inch. 